HBAN sets goal of raising €7m in new angel investment

Halo Business Angel Network (HBAN) says it is aiming to bring in €7m from new business angel funds during its national conference on 8 February.

The event will involve representatives from nine syndicates: MedTech Syndicate, Irrus Investments, Food Syndicate, Bloom Equity, Boole Investments, West by North West Syndicate, South East Business Angel Network, a New York syndicate that HBAN has partnered with and a Singapore syndicate that HBAN helped to establish.

The annual conference will take place at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham in Dublin. The event is open to non-HBAN members who want to see how the network works, connect with angels and listen to pitches from high-potential start-ups.

“Angel investing is a vital element in the start-up environment, particularly for those companies that need knowledge and expertise and not just funding,” said national director John Phelan.

“We are confident that we will reach our target of €7m and 35 new business angels to invest in the dynamic and innovative start-up scene in Ireland. Last year, we raised €6m at our business angel roadshows in two days.”

Angel investing is a crucial part of the start-up ecosystem in Ireland

Last week, we reported that angel investment in Ireland is forecast to rise by 17pc in 2018, with angel investors increasingly focused on big trends in medtech, artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and the internet of things (IoT).

The €13.6m invested by HBAN angels in 2016 was a 25pc increase on the amount invested the previous year.

In the last 10 years, HBAN angels invested more than €80m in Irish start-ups. These investments have leveraged a further €124m from other public and private funds, bringing the total invested to €204m.

“We are delighted to have a record number of syndicates gathering together as there is a growing trend for co-syndicate investment,” Phelan said.

“For example, three HBAN syndicates – MedTech, Boole and Irrus – co-invested in the €1.8m AventaMed deal last year. We are also seeing the overseas syndicates co-investing with Irish-based syndicates. The conference is a chance for syndicate members to network and discuss potential collaboration.

“We expect to have more than 200 attendees at the conference. It’s a great opportunity to showcase some of HBAN’s success stories and highlight the quality of deal flow that HBAN provides to the network. It also gives prospective and existing HBAN members the chance to meet other members of the network’s business angel community and learn about the opportunities for angel investing in Ireland,” Phelan concluded.